Why Aerys II Targaryen Is Known As The Mad King In Game Of Thrones

All through “Sport of Thrones” — HBO’s massively in style fantasy sequence primarily based on George R.R. Martin’s novel series “A Song of Ice and Fire” — we hear fairly a bit about King Aerys II Targaryen, who earns the very flattering nickname “the Mad King” earlier than his reign is formally minimize quick in 283 AC (I am going to circle again to how it was minimize quick earlier than lengthy, so grasp tight). The daddy of Daenerys Targaryen, the self-crowned Mom of Dragons performed all through the sequence by Emilia Clarke, Aerys is … a troubled man, to say the very least. It did not assist issues that his mother and father, King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and Shaera Targaryen, had been siblings; the entire Targaryen clan was just a little too keen on incest, which led to a saying repeated all through “A Tune of Ice and Hearth” and “Sport of Thrones” — “Each time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin.” (Crossing bloodlines again and again is not essentially nice for mentioned bloodlines’ general well being, so Aerys’ insanity might very nicely have been a genetic downside.)

Earlier on in his reign, Aerys II Targaryen, who took over the Iron Throne in 262 AC — which in Westeros means “After the Conquest,” referring to the day Aegon the Conqueror was topped — married his personal sister Rhaella and was a comparatively respectable ruler. With Ser Tywin Lannister (performed on “Sport of Thrones” by Charles Dance) by his aspect because the Hand of the King and a dream to be the best king within the historical past of the Seven Kingdoms, Aerys begins his reign filled with promise. So what occurred, and why did Aerys earn the nickname “Mad King?”

Aerys has massive desires as King of the Seven Kingdoms, however his consideration span is on the quick aspect, so he neglects to convey most of his massive plans to fruition … and as he declines, Tywin Lannister’s power and affect solely grows, resulting in a present of mistrust between the King and his Hand. Aerys was additionally recognized to maintain many mistresses and covet what he could not have, resulting in a very awkward scenario between Aerys and Tywin the place, when the latter marries his beloved spouse, Joanna, Aerys apparently insists that he had a “proper” to Tywin’s new bride first. (Fan theories over whether or not or not Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister is a secret Targaryen middle largely round the concept that Aerys adopted by means of on this risk.) Not solely does this drive extra of a wedge between the 2 males, however rumors swirl all through Westeros that Tywin is the one actually ruling the realm, which royally pisses Aerys off. Then, because the king offers with the tragic loss of life of some of his kids at a younger age, he experiences a few of his earliest bouts of insanity, even going as far as to behead a moist nurse who nursed one in every of his late sons. (He additionally has the newborn’s mom, one in every of his mistresses, tortured and killed alongside together with her complete household.)

The connection between Tywin and Aerys breaks down even additional when the previous tries to throw a tourney to rejoice one in every of Aerys’ surviving sons, Viserys, in obvious good religion — however when Tywin means that his daughter Cersei (performed within the sequence by Lena Headey) and Aerys’ eldest son Rhaegar might type a political marriage, Aerys principally declares that Cersei is not highborn sufficient for his son, inflicting the most important rift between the 2 but. None of that is helped by an occasion often called the Defiance of Duskendale, whereby an offended lord (Lord Denys Darklyn of, nicely, Duskendale) units a entice for Aerys and holds the king captive for a number of months. After Ser Barristan Selmy, performed in “Sport of Thrones” by Ian McElhinney, rescues Aerys, he will get revenge on Home Darklyn by having all of them killed, which is not an excellent signal with reference to Aery’s mindset on the time.

The Defiance of Duskendale actually does not go away Aerys in a very good headspace — the truth is, he principally locks himself in King’s Touchdown’s fortress The Purple Hold, and assumes that everyone on the earth is formally out to “get” him. Although Aerys begins to consider that Rhaegar and Tywin really colluded to create the scenario in Duskendale, which might give Tywin an opportunity to marry his daughter off to Rhaegar with out Aerys’ interference, a bigger subject with Rhaegar arises that captured the king’s consideration — and fuels his fury.

Aerys finally orders Rhaegar to marry Princess Elia Martell of Dorne — and the 2 do marry within the Sept of Baelor in entrance of the dominion’s elite — however in 282 AC, Rhaegar vanishes, and by all appearances kidnaps Lyanna Stark (the sister of Sean Bean’s lord Eddard Stark and supposed spouse of Mark Addy’s Robert Baratheon) within the course of. Brandon Stark, Ned’s brother, personally rides to the Purple Hold to order Rhaegar to return exterior and struggle him, solely to find that Rhaegar is nowhere to be discovered; Aerys has Brandon and all of his cohorts arrested. This brings Rickard Stark onto the scene, and after he calls for a trial by fight, Aerys kills the Stark lord with wildfire, an all-consuming magical flame that, by this level, is his new favourite weapon. All hell actually breaks free when Aerys calls for that Lord Jon Arryn kill each Ned and Robert and current him with their heads; when the lord refuses to kill his allies, the battle often called Robert’s Riot begins in earnest. Homes Arryn, Stark, Baratheon, Tully, and Greyjoy take one aspect, whereas the Targaryens are joined by Tyrell and Martell (the Lannisters, shrewdly, stay “impartial” between the 2 factions).

As a result of strife between Tywin Lannister and Aerys II Targaryen, the previous steps down as Hand of the King earlier than Robert’s Riot even actually begins, leaving Ser Owen Merryweather to function Hand; Aerys then runs by means of a number of palms (burning at the very least one alive) earlier than he finds one who will totally do his bidding, selecting a person named Rossart who serves as the top of the Alchemist’s Guild (a bunch that has been unfailingly loyal to Aerys because the Defiance of Duskendale). Aerys additionally faces a ton of losses all through this battle; Rhaegar is killed by Robert on the Battle of the Trident, and Aerys makes actually one sensible choice by sending Rhaella away to Dragonstone with their remaining kids Viserys and Daenerys. 

Wait, so why did I convey up Rossart because the Hand of the King? This is why. Aerys, who can see the battle is about to finish (and never in his favor), has a non-public chat with Rossart and Jaime Lannister, the top of his Kingsguard performed within the sequence by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. When Aerys declares that he desires to stage King’s Touchdown with wildfire in order that he can win the battle principally by default — killing numerous innocents within the course of — Rossart is on board, however Jaime is decidedly not. (Aerys, as a result of he’s “mad” by now, thinks that as a Targaryen he might be “immune” to the wildfire and even be reworked right into a dragon within the course of.) Aerys instructions Rossart to set wildfire free on the town — utilizing underground caches he beforehand arrange — and tells Jaime to kill Tywin, however Jaime takes issues into his personal palms and kills each males, incomes the nickname “Kingslayer.” (That is, like “Mad King,” not a flattering nickname, however Jaime does not publicly disclose that Aerys was threatening to homicide actually everybody within the surrounding space.) Tywin and Robert return to King’s Touchdown safely, Robert takes the Iron Throne, and the remainder — which means the whole lot of “Sport of Thrones” — is historical past. 

Okay, so what about Daenerys Targaryen, who turns into the one surviving inheritor of Aerys II Targaryen after her brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd) is (rightfully) killed by her new husband Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa)? (No, it actually is a rightful killing; Viserys threatens Daenerys, at which level Drogo, unable to spill blood within the Dothraki metropolis Vaes Dothraki, dumps a pot of molten gold on Viserys’ head.) At first, Daenerys appears … fairly superior. After Drogo dies on the finish of season 1 of “Sport of Thrones,” Daenerys climbs into his funeral pyre with three dragon eggs; though everybody thinks the eggs are purely ornamental, Daenerys walks out of the ashes at daybreak the following morning utterly bare however adorned by three child dragons, incomes her the title “Mom of Dragons” and, to her thoughts, cementing her declare to the Iron Throne.

Daenerys spends most of “Sport of Thrones” utilizing these dragons to execute her enemies, and it is often within the curiosity of, say, releasing slaves or taking down genuinely evil forces … till the present’s remaining stretch, the place Daenerys begins inheriting a few of her father’s insanity. When Tarly forces lose a battle to Daenerys in season 7, she executes Randyll and Dickon Tarly (James Faulkner and Tom Hopper), the daddy and brother of Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), once they refuse to bend the knee, in order that’s not an excellent signal. After all, all of this results in the siege of King’s Touchdown within the sequence’ penultimate episode, season 8’s “The Bells,” the place, atop her final dwelling dragon Drogon, Daenerys hears the bells of give up ringing out within the Westerosi capital and kills all people there anyway. So, yeah … Daenerys eventually earns the moniker of “Mad Queen” all by herself, fulfilling her father’s legacy — and in a second of true dramatic irony, she’s killed by her nephew and lover Jon Snow (Equipment Harington), the key son of the legally married couple Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Plot twist!

“Sport of Thrones” is streaming in its entirety on Max now.

All through “Sport of Thrones” — HBO’s massively in style fantasy sequence primarily based on George R.R. Martin’s novel series “A Song of Ice and Fire” — we hear fairly a bit about King Aerys II Targaryen, who earns the very flattering nickname “the Mad King” earlier than his reign is formally minimize quick in 283 AC (I am going to circle again to how it was minimize quick earlier than lengthy, so grasp tight). The daddy of Daenerys Targaryen, the self-crowned Mom of Dragons performed all through the sequence by Emilia Clarke, Aerys is … a troubled man, to say the very least. It did not assist issues that his mother and father, King Jaehaerys II Targaryen and Shaera Targaryen, had been siblings; the entire Targaryen clan was just a little too keen on incest, which led to a saying repeated all through “A Tune of Ice and Hearth” and “Sport of Thrones” — “Each time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin.” (Crossing bloodlines again and again is not essentially nice for mentioned bloodlines’ general well being, so Aerys’ insanity might very nicely have been a genetic downside.)

Earlier on in his reign, Aerys II Targaryen, who took over the Iron Throne in 262 AC — which in Westeros means “After the Conquest,” referring to the day Aegon the Conqueror was topped — married his personal sister Rhaella and was a comparatively respectable ruler. With Ser Tywin Lannister (performed on “Sport of Thrones” by Charles Dance) by his aspect because the Hand of the King and a dream to be the best king within the historical past of the Seven Kingdoms, Aerys begins his reign filled with promise. So what occurred, and why did Aerys earn the nickname “Mad King?”

Aerys has massive desires as King of the Seven Kingdoms, however his consideration span is on the quick aspect, so he neglects to convey most of his massive plans to fruition … and as he declines, Tywin Lannister’s power and affect solely grows, resulting in a present of mistrust between the King and his Hand. Aerys was additionally recognized to maintain many mistresses and covet what he could not have, resulting in a very awkward scenario between Aerys and Tywin the place, when the latter marries his beloved spouse, Joanna, Aerys apparently insists that he had a “proper” to Tywin’s new bride first. (Fan theories over whether or not or not Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister is a secret Targaryen middle largely round the concept that Aerys adopted by means of on this risk.) Not solely does this drive extra of a wedge between the 2 males, however rumors swirl all through Westeros that Tywin is the one actually ruling the realm, which royally pisses Aerys off. Then, because the king offers with the tragic loss of life of some of his kids at a younger age, he experiences a few of his earliest bouts of insanity, even going as far as to behead a moist nurse who nursed one in every of his late sons. (He additionally has the newborn’s mom, one in every of his mistresses, tortured and killed alongside together with her complete household.)

The connection between Tywin and Aerys breaks down even additional when the previous tries to throw a tourney to rejoice one in every of Aerys’ surviving sons, Viserys, in obvious good religion — however when Tywin means that his daughter Cersei (performed within the sequence by Lena Headey) and Aerys’ eldest son Rhaegar might type a political marriage, Aerys principally declares that Cersei is not highborn sufficient for his son, inflicting the most important rift between the 2 but. None of that is helped by an occasion often called the Defiance of Duskendale, whereby an offended lord (Lord Denys Darklyn of, nicely, Duskendale) units a entice for Aerys and holds the king captive for a number of months. After Ser Barristan Selmy, performed in “Sport of Thrones” by Ian McElhinney, rescues Aerys, he will get revenge on Home Darklyn by having all of them killed, which is not an excellent signal with reference to Aery’s mindset on the time.

The Defiance of Duskendale actually does not go away Aerys in a very good headspace — the truth is, he principally locks himself in King’s Touchdown’s fortress The Purple Hold, and assumes that everyone on the earth is formally out to “get” him. Although Aerys begins to consider that Rhaegar and Tywin really colluded to create the scenario in Duskendale, which might give Tywin an opportunity to marry his daughter off to Rhaegar with out Aerys’ interference, a bigger subject with Rhaegar arises that captured the king’s consideration — and fuels his fury.

Aerys finally orders Rhaegar to marry Princess Elia Martell of Dorne — and the 2 do marry within the Sept of Baelor in entrance of the dominion’s elite — however in 282 AC, Rhaegar vanishes, and by all appearances kidnaps Lyanna Stark (the sister of Sean Bean’s lord Eddard Stark and supposed spouse of Mark Addy’s Robert Baratheon) within the course of. Brandon Stark, Ned’s brother, personally rides to the Purple Hold to order Rhaegar to return exterior and struggle him, solely to find that Rhaegar is nowhere to be discovered; Aerys has Brandon and all of his cohorts arrested. This brings Rickard Stark onto the scene, and after he calls for a trial by fight, Aerys kills the Stark lord with wildfire, an all-consuming magical flame that, by this level, is his new favourite weapon. All hell actually breaks free when Aerys calls for that Lord Jon Arryn kill each Ned and Robert and current him with their heads; when the lord refuses to kill his allies, the battle often called Robert’s Riot begins in earnest. Homes Arryn, Stark, Baratheon, Tully, and Greyjoy take one aspect, whereas the Targaryens are joined by Tyrell and Martell (the Lannisters, shrewdly, stay “impartial” between the 2 factions).

As a result of strife between Tywin Lannister and Aerys II Targaryen, the previous steps down as Hand of the King earlier than Robert’s Riot even actually begins, leaving Ser Owen Merryweather to function Hand; Aerys then runs by means of a number of palms (burning at the very least one alive) earlier than he finds one who will totally do his bidding, selecting a person named Rossart who serves as the top of the Alchemist’s Guild (a bunch that has been unfailingly loyal to Aerys because the Defiance of Duskendale). Aerys additionally faces a ton of losses all through this battle; Rhaegar is killed by Robert on the Battle of the Trident, and Aerys makes actually one sensible choice by sending Rhaella away to Dragonstone with their remaining kids Viserys and Daenerys. 

Wait, so why did I convey up Rossart because the Hand of the King? This is why. Aerys, who can see the battle is about to finish (and never in his favor), has a non-public chat with Rossart and Jaime Lannister, the top of his Kingsguard performed within the sequence by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. When Aerys declares that he desires to stage King’s Touchdown with wildfire in order that he can win the battle principally by default — killing numerous innocents within the course of — Rossart is on board, however Jaime is decidedly not. (Aerys, as a result of he’s “mad” by now, thinks that as a Targaryen he might be “immune” to the wildfire and even be reworked right into a dragon within the course of.) Aerys instructions Rossart to set wildfire free on the town — utilizing underground caches he beforehand arrange — and tells Jaime to kill Tywin, however Jaime takes issues into his personal palms and kills each males, incomes the nickname “Kingslayer.” (That is, like “Mad King,” not a flattering nickname, however Jaime does not publicly disclose that Aerys was threatening to homicide actually everybody within the surrounding space.) Tywin and Robert return to King’s Touchdown safely, Robert takes the Iron Throne, and the remainder — which means the whole lot of “Sport of Thrones” — is historical past. 

Okay, so what about Daenerys Targaryen, who turns into the one surviving inheritor of Aerys II Targaryen after her brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd) is (rightfully) killed by her new husband Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa)? (No, it actually is a rightful killing; Viserys threatens Daenerys, at which level Drogo, unable to spill blood within the Dothraki metropolis Vaes Dothraki, dumps a pot of molten gold on Viserys’ head.) At first, Daenerys appears … fairly superior. After Drogo dies on the finish of season 1 of “Sport of Thrones,” Daenerys climbs into his funeral pyre with three dragon eggs; though everybody thinks the eggs are purely ornamental, Daenerys walks out of the ashes at daybreak the following morning utterly bare however adorned by three child dragons, incomes her the title “Mom of Dragons” and, to her thoughts, cementing her declare to the Iron Throne.

Daenerys spends most of “Sport of Thrones” utilizing these dragons to execute her enemies, and it is often within the curiosity of, say, releasing slaves or taking down genuinely evil forces … till the present’s remaining stretch, the place Daenerys begins inheriting a few of her father’s insanity. When Tarly forces lose a battle to Daenerys in season 7, she executes Randyll and Dickon Tarly (James Faulkner and Tom Hopper), the daddy and brother of Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), once they refuse to bend the knee, in order that’s not an excellent signal. After all, all of this results in the siege of King’s Touchdown within the sequence’ penultimate episode, season 8’s “The Bells,” the place, atop her final dwelling dragon Drogon, Daenerys hears the bells of give up ringing out within the Westerosi capital and kills all people there anyway. So, yeah … Daenerys eventually earns the moniker of “Mad Queen” all by herself, fulfilling her father’s legacy — and in a second of true dramatic irony, she’s killed by her nephew and lover Jon Snow (Equipment Harington), the key son of the legally married couple Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Plot twist!

“Sport of Thrones” is streaming in its entirety on Max now.